If you were in downtown Minneapolis on Thursday, you likely heard honks and horns filling the streets. It was all a part of the city's first Big Honking Truck Parade. 

The family-friendly event on Nicollet Mall aimed to bring people to downtown.

"The whole point was to figure out how to get kids and families downtown for a family-friendly experience," said Lisa Goodman, who's the director of strategic initiatives for the City of Minneapolis.

It's part of their Downtown Action Plan, in the works since October 2024.

"It's no longer a place where people come into work at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m. It's a place for celebration, entertainment," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

The plan is working to create a vibrant, 24-hour downtown focusing on three areas:

1. Making streets, sidewalks and alleys better for pedestrians.
2. Providing better resources for businesses and customers.
3. Working with community partners to make sure events like this are working for them.

Tiffany Calderon was a vendor at Thursday's parade and told WCCO she feels invested in. 

"I think for small businesses. We're always looking for an opportunity, and for the city to extend the invitation was awesome," she said.

The city says they can expect more of those to come.

"It's not all on government, it's not all on big businesses, it's all of us together," Goodman said.

On Sept. 11, the city will host its first Dinner Du Nord — a dinner table that will spread across the mall, where you're invited to have a seat. For more information on the dinner, click here.